Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

mike65

Disaster!

Rafa the Manager of the Month!

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N162099081114-1417.htm

The losses at Spurs are suddenly explained.

Mike

whatawaster

Degen out for four weeks.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N162096081114-1350.htm

I'd love to see Darby get a go tomorrow, but i'd say we'll see Carragher at RB

prendy

whatawaster wrote: »

Degen out for four weeks.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N162096081114-1350.htm

I'd love to see Darby get a go tomorrow, but i'd say we'll see Carragher at RB

after the last night i dont want to see Agger and Hyypia in the centre together. I know the goals were generally not their fault but i cant help thinking: if only Carra was in the centre....


but on the flip side the few minutes this season Carra has played RB he has looked excellent.

whatawaster

prendy wrote: »

after the last night i dont want to see Agger and Hyypia in the centre together. I know the goals were generally not their fault but i cant help thinking: if only Carra was in the centre....


but on the flip side the few minutes this season Carra has played RB he has looked excellent.

He does seem to put in better crosses than any of our other full-backs.

prendy

whatawaster wrote: »

He does seem to put in better crosses than any of our other full-backs.

why cant he play a pass when he's centre back? it's like in his mind he says get it as far up the pitch as possible!

whatawaster

prendy wrote: »

why cant he play a pass when he's centre back? it's like in his mind he says get it as far up the pitch as possible!

That tendancy usually comes to the fore when we are playing badly. And when that happens nobody wants the ball. That's one of the big failings of our team imo. Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano usually man-mark one of the opposition players leaving Carra no option but to hoof it.
I think that's why we have this (unfair, i think) reputation for being a long ball team or playing boring football. People only pay attention to us when we're crap

machiavellianme

whatawaster wrote: »

People only pay attention to us when we're crap

Considering the length of this thread, we must be crap fairly often? Damn you Benayoun...bringing the standard of our team down to crap!

eZe^

Give Bolton a good bollocking for me will you Mini Espana?

mayordenis

eZe^ wrote: »

Give Bolton a good bollocking for me will you Mini Espana?

For you, anything.

eZe^

mayordenis wrote: »

For you, anything.

Dub13

A heads up.

Anne Williams, done an interview with the Sunday Buisness Post, a few weeks ago when we had her over.The paper is running the interview this sunday, so keep an eye out for it as her story is very moving.

zing

The club are apparently trying to trademark the Liverbird.

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/11/15/gillett-and-hicks-accused-to-trying-to-steal-liverpool-s-liver-bird-64375-22262735/

While I can understand why they would want/need to this certainly won't go down well

Dub13

zing wrote: »

The club are apparently trying to trademark the Liverbird.

http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2008/11/15/gillett-and-hicks-accused-to-trying-to-steal-liverpool-s-liver-bird-64375-22262735/

While I can understand why they would want/need to this certainly won't go down well

LOL....I am just after getting about 60 Irishkop polos done up a couple of weeks ago with the Liverbird and Irishkop.com below it.I am about to put in another order of polos,hoddies and fleeces next week....hope the club don't come looking for me.

copacetic

Dub13 wrote: »

LOL....I am just after getting about 60 Irishkop polos done up a couple of weeks ago with the Liverbird and Irishkop.com below it.I am about to put in another order of polos,hoddies and fleeces next week....hope the club don't come looking for me.

It makes sense though, if the LFC style liverbird was a trademark then this wouldn't be allowed. There are hundreds of thousands of 'legal fakes' worldwide because the are instantly recognised as representing the club. I don't think there is any other club with the same issue?

It's why the crest has got more and more complicated to try and differentiate it from the liverbird alone.

For instance Dub13, maybe if it was a trademark you would have gone to the club for polos and then had irishkop.com added afterward and the club would have made some money on it?

It isn't the fanclubs they are after though it is the industry in fake club gear out there.

tallaghtoutlaws

Isn't the Liverbird a historic symbol and isn't it impossible to trademark something historical?

ROCKMAN

Could someone explain the Torres situation to me ,
Why did he start mid week and back on bench today, (did he a pick up a knock )
surely getting game time into one of your greatest assets would be a must,
Is Rafa just playing safe ?

mike65

See match match Rockman.

Mike

jesus_thats_gre

ROCKMAN wrote: »

Could someone explain the Torres situation to me ,
Why did he start mid week and back on bench today, (did he a pick up a knock )
surely getting game time into one of your greatest assets would be a must,
Is Rafa just playing safe ?

Torres is returning from injury. There is absolutely no point rushing him back when the team is still doing well and Keane has finally got off the mark in the PL.

Also http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/7730869.stm

Rafa Benitez has told star striker Fernando Torres that he has no automatic starting place at Liverpool. (Various)

Mr Alan

Ryan Babel wrote:

"I'm satisfied with my level of performance but the situation is clear - that I'm not going to be one of the regular 11 starters," Babel said in The Guardian.

"It's difficult. I do get frustrated. I can tell myself that I'm still only 21 and at the start of my career.

"But it is making it hard for me because, as time goes on, they keep telling me that I'm young and that my time will come. Well, OK, but I'm not a player who wants to wait. I want to be involved now rather than in three or four years' time."

Babel has also stated that he would rather compete with strikers Robbie Keane and Fernando Torres than be deployed in a wide role.

Improve

"I have always said that I want to play as a striker," he added.

"Of course, it would not help me improve if I wasn't able to play, or train, in another position a couple of times. But all the time?

"I used to play as a striker in Holland. I grew up as a striker. That's the position I want to play.

"But I'm working on it. I look at myself before I blame others. I'm going to do something about it. It's not something I'm scared about."

maybe i'm just in bad form, but reading this-first thing that comes into my head is, **** him out the door.

cheeky considering some of the ****e performances he has put in when given a chance.

colly10

Mr Alan wrote: »

maybe i'm just in bad form, but reading this-first thing that comes into my head is, **** him out the door.

cheeky considering some of the ****e performances he has put in when given a chance.

I like Babel and would give him the benefit of the doubt, hope we don't have another whinger on our hands though, Rafa will have him out

~Rebel~

Anyone else think Tony Mowbray looks like he could be Robbie's dad?

Dont be at yourself

That's right up there with the Milan Baros/Chris Coleman paternity case, and definitely ahead of Pepe Reina/Rafa Benitez.

purple'n'gold

What’s going to happen financially come the end of January? Liverpools dept is absolutely frightening and the Royal bank of Scotland is looking for money.
http://soccerlens.com/liverpool-fans-ready-to-takeover-from-hicks-and-gillett/14954/

mike65

Nothing much. Either G&H will get the money or they won't, if not Sheikh Mo makes an offer.

Mike

jesus_thats_gre

Have to admit that I am sort of hoping that this is true. When Rafa cuts his losses, tis normally for the best...

Andrea Dossena may head for Juventus or Roma as Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez looks to cut his losses on the full-back flop. (News of the World)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/gossip_and_transfers/7731946.stm

Malice

A 2 line gossip snippet from the News of The World shouldn't really be taken as anything other than pie in the sky. Dossena has looked woeful defensively so far but without alternative options at left-back other than the brittle Aurelio or an out of position Arbeloa or Carragher, Rafa would be daft to get rid of him so quickly.

mike65

I think he's a gonna (in January), he said himself it wasn't happening for him. Italians have a poor history in England.

Mike

jesus_thats_gre

malice_ wrote: »

A 2 line gossip snippet from the News of The World shouldn't really be taken as anything other than pie in the sky. Dossena has looked woeful defensively so far but without alternative options at left-back other than the brittle Aurelio or an out of position Arbeloa or Carragher, Rafa would be daft to get rid of him so quickly.

I would assume that if he was to get rid, he would replace him..

darkskol

Athletico interested in Arbeloa according to RTE

spockety

malice_ wrote: »

A 2 line gossip snippet from the News of The World shouldn't really be taken as anything other than pie in the sky. Dossena has looked woeful defensively so far but without alternative options at left-back other than the brittle Aurelio or an out of position Arbeloa or Carragher, Rafa would be daft to get rid of him so quickly.

Step up Insua.

As I said in another thread, seeing his name on the teamsheet would fill me with more confidence than Dossena's right now going into any match. Maybe Dossena can/will come good, but I'm not sure we can afford to bed him in given how well our league campaign is going. If he costs us points it would not be good.

I have to say I like the way Rafa cuts his losses sometimes (Gonzales springs to mind especially) instead of burying his head in the sand. It's not easy for anybody in any walk of life to admit they were wrong, so it has to be admired.

zAbbo

I think Dossenna is worth keeping, but if he is having trouble settling - offload him and his value still holds good in Italy.

But why would we offload him, and promote Insua. We can keep him and still do that.

jesus_thats_gre

zAbbo wrote: »

I think Dossenna is worth keeping, but if he is having trouble settling - offload him and his value still holds good in Italy.

But why would we offload him, and promote Insua. We can keep him and still do that.

I can think of 7 million reasons..

PHB

If he's off loaded in January, its unlikely he'll go for 7 million surely?

Keith186

There's a couple of LFC TV programmes on Setanta IRL shortly.

17.30 - 18.30: Kop 10 Derby Wins (vs Everton)
18.30 - 19.30: Kop 10 Late Goals

Available in IRL only.

Re: Dossena - looked very poor every time I've seen him. He's probably a decent player but it's just not happening for him in Liverpool.

If they can get a decent offer on him from the likes of Juve they should definitely sell him.

Dont be at yourself

I dunno, I would imagine his stock is still pretty high in Italy. He's still getting called up to the national team, and if the reports that both Roma and Juve are looking for a left-back are true, we could re-coup what we've paid.

Malice

Thanks Spockety, I knew as I was writing the post that I had forgotten someone. I always seem to get Sebastian Leto and Insua confused for some reason .

I'd like to see Dossena given time to prove himself. If he is still as woeful next April then I'm sure Rafa won't hesitate to move him on.

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote: »

If he's off loaded in January, its unlikely he'll go for 7 million surely?

Have no idea.. If he isn't going to work out and Rafa has given him all the oppurtunities to prove himself as he is going to, then he needs to be sold one way or another. If bids of 1 or 2 million are only forthcoming then it would make sense to keep him but if we can get 75% of what we paid for him, then he will probably be gone..

rosboy

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Have no idea.. If he isn't going to work out and Rafa has given him all the oppurtunities to prove himself as he is going to, then he needs to be sold one way or another. If bids of 1 or 2 million are only forthcoming then it would make sense to keep him but if we can get 75% of what we paid for him, then he will probably be gone..

Are we being linked with left backs to replace him? Its great to have Insua there as a third choice left back, but he have to remember that he's only featured in a handful of matches at senior level, and these were against lesser sides IIRC. Coming up against stronger teams we may see more of his weaknesses exposed, and some of the sheen may come off his reputation. I wouldn't be prepared to risk the league on having Insua as one of our primary left backs (primary because with Aurelio's tendency in the past to get injured frequently he would be primary left back at times).

I don't see Rafa selling Dossena unless he has another LB lined up to replace him.

sweetie

we've been linked with Wayne Bridge and Gareth Bale before but would either club sell and are they better than what we have?

el rabitos

sweetie wrote: »

we've been linked with Wayne Bridge and Gareth Bale before but would either club sell and are they better than what we have?

bridge is a player i like, always thought he was a better player than ashley cole, not as pacey, but reads the game alot better. very consistant.

would be a massive step up on dossena. no chance of chelsea selling though.

i do like aurelio, remember him well from valencia and thought it was a real coup when we got him on a free that year, if he can stay fit i'd be happy for him to continue as first choice with insua playing the back up role.

MementoMori

On the whole Dossena/Aurelio/Insua thing I'd be in favour of keeping Dossena past January.

Also was Insua not named in a squad for a competive game around the start of the season ? ( I think a European game ) Not 100% but I seem to remember thinking he could have come on for five minutes at the end.

Kinda disappointing that Darby didnt get a run - definately not a fan of Carra at RB.

~Rebel~

id love if we could swap Dossena to Roma for Cicinho, moveing Insua up to backup for Aurelio so we'd have:
LB: Aurelio, Insua
RB: Arbeloa, Cicinho

Doubt Roma would let him go though, but imo that would leave us strong enough on both flanks. I really like aurelio, just fingers crossed he can keep fit consistantly this year. Insua may or may not be as good as he's appeared to be, but theres only one way to find out.

Tusky

Regardless of anyones opinions of our full backs, the situation remains the same as it was last season. Full back (both flanks) are our weakest position, followed by right wing. If Dossena/Degen dont work out, Im sure Rafa will address it in the summer.

~Rebel~

Tusky wrote: »

Regardless of anyones opinions of our full backs, the situation remains the same as it was last season. Full back (both flanks) are our weakest position, followed by right wing. If Dossena/Degen dont work out, Im sure Rafa will address it in the summer.

I dont think we're as weak as we thought at right wing tbh. Backup yes, i would prefer better then Yossi or Pennant, but Babel can do a job there if needed (though he rarely starts there he does often switch over during the game). As for first choice, I think if Kuyt were at another club we'd be creaming ourselves over him. Fantastic form this year, does well out wide, crosses well, tracks back and has fantastic positional sense to get in goalscoring situations. The only think he lacks is pace, his trickery has even improved with his confidence.

zing

Tusky wrote: »

Regardless of anyones opinions of our full backs, the situation remains the same as it was last season. Full back (both flanks) are our weakest position, followed by right wing. If Dossena/Degen dont work out, Im sure Rafa will address it in the summer.

Assuming he has money available in the summer. Let's just hope G&H aren't still about then..

oobydooby

~Rebel~ wrote: »

id love if we could swap Dossena to Roma for Cicinho

Maybe if Rick Parry took up a new position with Roma:pac: but yeah it would be a great deal (probably swop + cash though)

mormank

MementoMori wrote: »

On the whole Dossena/Aurelio/Insua thing I'd be in favour of keeping Dossena past January.

Also was Insua not named in a squad for a competive game around the start of the season ? ( I think a European game ) Not 100% but I seem to remember thinking he could have come on for five minutes at the end.

Kinda disappointing that Darby didnt get a run - definately not a fan of Carra at RB.

he is a great right back!! did you not see him making bits of the bolton left back at times?? the only problem is that we miss him as a CB

PiE

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7729516.stm

Injured midfielder Steven Gerrard was asked to report to England manager Fabio Capello, despite being unfit for Wednesday's friendly against Germany.

Gerrard could be out for 10 days after he tore a leg muscle in Liverpool's 2-0 win at Bolton on Saturday but Capello is seeking his own diagnosis.

Pretty ballsy by Capello/the FA. While we all know that clubs make the most of niggles in order to withdraw players from friendlies, it's a dangerous step for them to enforce their own checks. What happpens if the club's physios say he's not fit but England's say he is? We'll have ridiculous situations where the players have to publicly decide. And we all know footballers aren't the brightest bunch.

And if the player comes back injured, what then?

The FA are leaving themselves wide open to huge compensation claims if they push ahead with this.

MementoMori

mormank wrote: »

he is a great right back!! did you not see him making bits of the bolton left back at times?? the only problem is that we miss him as a CB

Probably should have been clearer when I said I wasnt a fan of Carra at RB.
Basically I meant that I would far far prefer him at CB than RB. I think it is a misuse of resources to play him at RB rather than CB. I would argue that the defence was off-form Saturday due to the rejigging and I never felt confident that we would get a clean sheet until the final whistle went - even in the first half when Bolton had very little of the ball we didnt look our usual secure selves at the back.

In the first half Bolton were only playing with one up front and Nolan kept going down the right/centre-right so Carra wasnt placed under any pressure defensively. Carra got forward into advanced positions a number of times and put in a couple of decent balls but nothing you could really describe as great. On a couple of other occasions he was in decent positions but ended up passing the ball backwards when a more attacking player would have put the ball into the box. When Gardner came on in the second half, he caused Carra problems with his pace and arguably two of Bolton's best chances resulted from this. I'm not saying Carra had a bad game, I just would have far preferred to have seen Carra at CB with Hyypia on the bench and either Darby getting his chance or even Aurelio switching over.

MementoMori

PiE wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/7729516.stm


Pretty ballsy by Capello/the FA. While we all know that clubs make the most of niggles in order to withdraw players from friendlies, it's a dangerous step for them to enforce their own checks. What happpens if the club's physios say he's not fit but England's say he is? We'll have ridiculous situations where the players have to publicly decide. And we all know footballers aren't the brightest bunch.

And if the player comes back injured, what then?

The FA are leaving themselves wide open to huge compensation claims if they push ahead with this.

Could it be a case of Capello wanting Gerrard around the squad i.e no danger of him playing but just wanting him around for leadership, squad bonding etc.
Of course it could also be Capello putting down a marker with the big clubs?Would be very surprising to see Gerrard playing any part in the game. It was a bit suspect that the Gerrard injury wasnt reported until mid-day Sunday. Normally you would hear of an injury like this much earlier especially given the early kick-off.